Reckoning: Chapter 41
by Michelle.Lee.PDX
Summary: Find out if Dru and Christophe get "serious". The Touch shows Dru a memory of the fight between Graves and Christophe on the bleachers. Find out how it went down.


Christophe pulled himself away just slightly. "Dru, there is something I need to tell you about my feelings toward Elizabeth, your mother." I exhaled the breath out of my mouth and felt a sickening feeling in my gut. _Is what he is about to say going to end our evening abruptly because I'm going to feel like puking?_

He continued softly, "You once said that you thought it 'creepy' that I used to be _all over_ your mom and now I'm _all over_ you." He paused with a sheepish look on his face, which was something I have not seen before. "You are correct…I was in love with Elizabeth. I trained her everyday in the ways of _malaika,_ just as I do for you. She was incredible. But Dru, you are even more skilled than she was at her best."

He continued talking still with his forehead touching mine. "It was easier than I expected to fall in love with Elizabeth. She was everyone's favorite because of her kind and laughing nature." His expression changed to one of regret. "However I pushed her too hard and too far away. She left the Order because of me and because of Anna's obsession with me. When Elizabeth started _malaika_ training, I was arrogant and thought I could be free of one to take on the other. I did not expect to fall in love as hard as I did with Beth. She took me by storm."

My mouth gaped open quite ungracefully. I could not believe how open Christophe was being. I did not dare interrupt, not wanting to discourage him from sharing more. "After your mother left my protection and refused the support from any of her guards, it was only a few months later that she met and married your father, a marine, and started anew. And that was that. My time had passed."

Christophe paused and then inhaled deeply with his nose. "Dru, I was so shocked and happy to learn that you existed when your father called. It was like I could breathe freely again. When Dwight told me how old you were, I knew you were in danger because the blooming would start shortly and every _nosferatu_ within five miles could smell your scent. Not to mention the Maharaja were on your tail as well. This is why your father kept you moving and why he eventually confided in me. He knew I was the one person that could guarantee your safety, _kochana_. Not even Augustine could do that. When your father died, time was of the essence to get to you before Sergej did. As _svetocha_, I did not want you not go through the changes alone. You needed someone to help you understand your uniqueness, _moj ptaszku."_

My mouth was still gaping open and it was dry with the shock and awe of his openness. I was holding onto the back of Christophe's neck as he finished speaking. No words came out, just my breath, which was more shallow and quick than before. I could feel that my heart was thumping the blood all the way down to my ankles. Christophe pleaded with me in the dark, "_Kochana_, please say something."

I was blinking in the darkness. I could tell he was waiting for me to be angry and throw him out the door behind us. Finally, I cleared my throat to speak. "Christophe, I…"

I pulled his neck in towards me with both hands as I yearned to kiss him in the darkness. Our mouths met as I raised onto my toes in my little black heels. To my surprise a little _yip_ vocalized in the back of my throat as we connected. Finally I pulled back from Christophe's embrace, giving him a lingering pull on his lower lip as I spoke in a labored voice.

"Will you stay with me tonight, Chris? I... um... don't want to do anything that you think is unwise, but I'm wanting to know more about what I want too."

Christophe smiled at me in the darkness. Finally he answered with a whisper, "Yes, Dru."

The _touch_ flared in my skull as I was absorbed into Christophe's kiss. It flashed a dark vision of Graves, wincing in pain, sitting on a wooden floor with his long legs folded up into his chest. _My god, he looks in agony._ The vision blurred and rematerialized. From the first person point of view someone was running through a dense forest. Then I saw Graves in full _loup-garou_ form. His chest was bare and he raced through giant redwoods, leaping over fallen logs and pushing through ferns that brushed against his copper skin. He was beautiful. _Graves…_

Christophe's hands were roaming upward to my shoulders as the kiss deepened. His right hand drew up into the back of my head and pulled through my long dark hair, which waved with blond streaks randomly. He pulled me in tighter as a soft grunt of emotion vocalized in his throat. His left hand slowly moved to the small lower back, pinky finger pressing down, almost on my buttocks. The spiced apple scent was filling up my lungs as I became lost in the feeling of numbness and heightened awareness simultaneously.

_What the hell is going on? My mind is with Graves – so real and so much in common. But my body is svetocha, a djampire, just like Christophe. How can that be wrong? We are forever linked by the same biology and… each other's blood._

Christophe delicately pulled away from me as the sound of our mouths disconnecting echoed in the air. It was hot and the atmosphere felt stagnant in my room. The locket on my breastbone was sticky from the heat of us. Christophe reached for the back of my neck and held it. "Dru, are you sure that you want to… be with me tonight?"

I shivered as another surge of electricity caused my arm hairs to straighten. _Do I? Was this really what I wanted? Would I regret this forever if I gave myself to Christophe tonight? I can't take it back once its done. What would this mean to our relationship if I made him stay? Would Graves ever forgive me if…_

"Christophe, we have to stop," I said regretfully. "This isn't the right time yet." I took one step back from him so his hands were on my waist only. He grimaced in the dark and I could sense he was disappointed as well. "Dru, _milna,_ you have control. You always have control." He let go of me and pulled the bottom edge of his sweater downward to smooth out the wrinkles our bodies created. I could feel that he was starting to cool off and return to the business-like tone he normally uses. The scent of spiced apples was fading, just a bit.

I was almost sad as I heard him shuffling his boots on the carpet. _Tell me what you are thinking, Christophe? Are you upset with me for being a tease? Will things be all weird tomorrow at sparring practice? Does this change anything?_

"Chris, I'm sorry. I guess I got carried away after you said all those things about how you felt before, way back when…" I really did want him. My body certainly did.

I could tell from the filtered moonlight through the shaded windows that he was running his hands through his hair, smoothing it back into its perfect place. "It's okay, Dru. I would have liked to show you things tonight that I know about, but I have to think that there will be another chance, a better time, for us to be together without… any distractions." He was referring to Graves.

I was impressed by Christophe's patience, restraint and enduring hopefulness for Us. "Good night, _skowroneczko moja_." He kissed me tenderly on my forehead and left quietly. I stood in the center of my room, in the dark and all alone. _Fuck._

Our regular sparring practice was not any worse than before, which I seriously feared it would be. "Let's practice position twelve, please _kochana."_ We went for two full rounds, sweat building almost immediately as we locked _malaika_ on an almost even basis. We were using real wooden weapons now that I was just about as good as him. I was cautious not to let Christophe get the best of me with his distracting occasional smirking as he uttered, "Not bad, _milna_."

My right hand swooped low at him as I planted the left _malaika_ tip into the mat and completed a one handed cartwheel toward him with legs high in the air. Christophe leaned into a deep back bend and flipped backwards, without hands or _malaika_ touching the floor. "Impressive, Reynard." I smiled at him devilishly.

An old image of Graves swipes across my thoughts. The _touch _clarified the memory. He is crouching at the top of the bleachers with hurt emotions in his eyes. Several figures are lingering on the edges of the vision. Christophe is there with him.

"_Loup-garou,_" his facial expression is cold and his tone is unempathetic to Graves' sullenness. "What do you have to offer her that I could not do better?" Graves put forth a low growl as the wulfen in him began to stir. "Fuck off, Reynard, and take them with you, back to your coffins." Christophe's mouth turned up at the left corner in disgust. "Milady is _svetocha_, a fighting princess among _djampire._You are wulfen, her subject, nothing like the equal that she deserves, and needs."

Graves' searing green eyes blazed furiously at Christophe's hurtful words, especially when he said "Milady" while using that tone of uppity arrogance. "You think you know what she wants, Reynard? You're decrepit on the inside and delusional if you think Dru will ever love you back. You _creep_ her out, you know that?" Graves jumped off the bleachers toward the place where Christophe stood placidly. He rose up from his landed crouch and stood in full wulfen form, more than a head taller than the _djampire_. In full _loup-garou_ get-up, Graves is near seven feet tall. Leon and another_djampire _guardsman, stepped forward but still stood well behind Christophe in the clearing.

Christophe didn't flinch. "Our lady Dru has all the time in the world to decide what… who she wants. I can give her experience, knowledge and the confidence to be the great leader she was born to become. What would you give her _loup-garou - _a brooding sense of self, worry, second hand smoke?"

Graves struck first contacting Christophe with his broad right shoulder into the ribs of the _djamphire_. They both went down punching and jabbing each other with all-out rage. Leon stayed back, but ready in case of a need. The two rolled through the tall grass until Christophe was on the top, pinning Graves' arms behind him with his face in the dirt field. "Give up now, _loup-garou_?"

Graves was breathing hard and panting, "Get the hell off me, Reynard." Christophe's normally perfect hair was dusty and a little out of place. His top lip was cut and slightly bleeding. His fangs were extended. He wiped the blood off his mouth slowly. He released his grip on Graves' wrists, stepped off and backed away. Graves sat up with knees bent. The long black coat draping his body was slightly torn on the right backside from when he and Christophe rolled into the thorn bush. Surprisingly Christophe extended his right arm outward to Graves as an offer. Graves stared back with humiliation in his eyes. "Leave me alone, damn it." He took off and ran toward the east side of the grounds of the Prima.

The vision faded as Christophe struck high with his left _malaika_ in a downward motion. I blocked it with my right blade. The aspect fluttered through me with a reactive flash of emotion. _Graves, Goth Boy,_ _where are you?_

I smirked and then glared at Christophe as I lunged with both arms extended, attempting to strike his mid-line. He brought his weapons low to block mine with an outward sweep. At that moment, without warning I had the urge to hurt him, and badly at that. As his body leaned forward with the block I lunged into him and snapped my forehead into his. Christophe stumbled back, rolled in reverse and landed in a crouching stop on the mat. His _malaika _fell outwards from each of his hands. The distress of what I had just done moved into my full awareness. "Holy shit. I'm so sorry, Christophe. I don't know what happened. That was really brutal. Are you okay?"

Christophe was stunned and silent for a moment. He blinked a few times which dampered the flames in his icy blue eyes. "What the hell was that?" His forehead was red and the mark would become a bruise, I was certain. He crouched in a defensive position, remaining low. For one minute I thought he looked just like a child who just dropped his scoop of ice cream on the ground. He seemed confused and almost… amused.

"Chris, I am not sure where that came from. Please say something."

**_Readers: Is Dru's inabilty to control the Touch and her temper going to be a problem for her as the visions get stronger? Read on to find out what big secret Christophe has been keeping from Dru. _**


End file.
